Question

A) What are five protists that might be found in pond water (other than Euglena, paramecium, giardia, amoeba, and slime mold)? B) What does each look like, what locomotion does each have, how does it obtain food, and where would you find it in the water?

Answer 1

a) 1. Plant like protist- Algae-Chlamydomonas,chlorella

2.Bacteria-Ciliates of order Peritricha (vorticella)

3.Fungus like protist- water molds

4.Diatoms

5.Dinoflagellates

B.1. Chlamydomonas and chlorella are unicellular and eukaryotic of class green algae or chlorophyceae

Chlamydomonas are motile unicellular algae and show isogamy chlorella is non motile unicellular algae.They are autotrophic and obtain food by photosynthesis.Thus they are free-floating.

2.Vorticella, genus of the ciliate protozoan order Peritrichida, a bell-shaped or cylindrical organism with a conspicuous ring of cilia (hairlike processes) on the oral end and a contractile unbranched stalk on the aboral end; Vorticellas eat bacteria and small protozoans and live in clusters in fresh water attached to aquatic plants.when its in sessile stage,as an epibiont.Locomotion is by using cilia.

3. Water molds are oomycetes or zoospores that are filamentous, microscopic, absorptive organisms that reproduce both sexually and asexually. The most common water molds are Pythium species, which cause damping-off of seedlings and stem cutting rots, and Phytophthora species,They prefer ro occur in conditions of high humidity and running surface water,and use surface water for movement.They obtain energy by decomposing organic materials, and as a result, are important for recycling nutrients.

4. Diatoms:The diatoms are the most beautiful microscopic algae due to their structure and sculpturing of their walls.They are photosynthetic autotrophs and obtain food by photosynthesis.They are commonly unicellular and free- living.Movement is by a single pantonematic flagellum.Some diatoms live as free-floating cells in the plankton of ponds. Some diatoms form attachments to surfaces, such as rocks or submerged organisms by mucilage pads. Some diatom species are attached to surfaces by stalks. Diatoms that have a special structure, called a raphe, are able to move over surfaces. These diatoms can move over fine grains of sand, or within the mud of a tidal zone, or even on other diatoms.

5.Dinoflagellates: Many dinoflagellates are primary producers of food in the aquatic food webs that obtain food by photosynthesis.The dinoflagellates along with other phytoplankton enter in to the aquaculture pond through water intake from adjacent tide water. Due to applied nutrients and water conditions, immediately the dinoflagellates proliferate its bloom in desire level or sometimes in heavy blooms which is harmful to pond condition. These blooms appear in red-brown or red -green water coloration.Mode o locomotion is by flagella as most of them possess two flagella.